History of beer

Awuwu beer receipt – This records a purchase of "best" beer from a brewer, c. 2050 BC from de Sumerian city of Umma in ancient Iraq.[1]

Beer is one of de owdest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at weast de 5f miwwennium BC in Iran, and was recorded in de written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and spread droughout de worwd.

As awmost any cereaw containing certain sugars can undergo spontaneous fermentation due to wiwd yeasts in de air, it is possibwe dat beer-wike beverages were independentwy devewoped droughout de worwd soon after a tribe or cuwture had domesticated cereaw. Chemicaw tests of ancient pottery jars reveaw dat beer was produced as far back as about 7,000 years ago in what is today Iran, uh-hah-hah-hah.[2] This discovery reveaws one of de earwiest known uses of fermentation and is de earwiest evidence of brewing to date.[3] In Mesopotamia, de owdest evidence of beer is bewieved to be a 6,000-year-owd Sumerian tabwet depicting peopwe drinking a beverage drough reed straws from a communaw boww. A 3900-year-owd Sumerian poem honouring Ninkasi, de patron goddess of brewing, contains de owdest surviving beer recipe, describing de production of beer from barwey via bread. In China, residue on pottery dating from between 5400 and 4900 years ago shows beer was brewed using barwey and oder grains.[4]

The invention of bread and beer has been argued to be responsibwe for humanity's abiwity to devewop technowogy and buiwd civiwization, uh-hah-hah-hah.[5][6][7] The earwiest chemicawwy confirmed barwey beer to date was discovered at Godin Tepe in de centraw Zagros Mountains of Iran, where fragments of a jug, from between 5400 and 5000 years ago was found to be coated wif beerstone, a by-product of de brewing process.[8]

Beer may have been known in Neowidic Europe as far back as 5,000 years ago,[9] and was mainwy brewed on a domestic scawe.[10]

Beer produced before de Industriaw Revowution continued to be made and sowd on a domestic scawe, awdough by de 7f century AD beer was awso being produced and sowd by European monasteries. During de Industriaw Revowution, de production of beer moved from artisanaw manufacture to industriaw manufacture, and domestic manufacture ceased to be significant by de end of de 19f century.[11] The devewopment of hydrometers and dermometers changed brewing by awwowing de brewer more controw of de process, and greater knowwedge of de resuwts.

As awmost any cereaw containing certain sugars can undergo spontaneous fermentation due to wiwd yeasts in de air, it is possibwe dat beer-wike beverages were independentwy devewoped droughout de worwd soon after a tribe or cuwture had domesticated cereaw. Chemicaw tests of ancient pottery jars reveaw dat beer was produced about 3,500 BC in what is today Iran, and was one of de first-known biowogicaw engineering tasks where de biowogicaw process of fermentation is used. Awso, archaeowogicaw findings show dat Chinese viwwagers were brewing fermented awcohowic drinks as far back as 7000 BC on smaww and individuaw scawe, wif de production process and medods simiwar to dat of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.[14]

In Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), earwy evidence of beer is a 3900-year-owd Sumerian poem honoring Ninkasi, de patron goddess of brewing, which contains de owdest surviving beer recipe, describing de production of beer from barwey via bread.[15] Approximatewy 5000 years ago, workers in de city of Uruk were paid by deir empwoyers in beer.[16]

Ninkasi, you are de one who pours out de fiwtered beer of de cowwector vat

Beer is awso mentioned in de Epic of Giwgamesh, in which de 'wiwd man' Enkidu is given beer to drink. "... he ate untiw he was fuww, drank seven pitchers of beer, his heart grew wight, his face gwowed and he sang out wif joy."

Confirmed written evidence of ancient beer production in Armenia can be obtained from Xenophon in his work Anabasis (5f century BC) when he was in one of de ancient Armenian viwwages in which he wrote:

“

There were stores widin of wheat and barwey and vegetabwes, and wine made from barwey in great big bowws; de grains of barwey mawt way fwoating in de beverage up to de wip of de vessew, and reeds way in dem, some wonger, some shorter, widout joints; when you were dirsty you must take one of dese into your mouf, and suck. The beverage widout admixture of water was very strong, and of a dewicious fwavour to certain pawates, but de taste must be acqwired.[18][19]

”

Beer became vitaw to aww de grain-growing civiwizations of Eurasian and Norf African antiqwity, incwuding Egypt—so much so dat in 1868 James Deaf put forward a deory in The Beer of de Bibwe dat de manna from heaven dat God gave de Israewites was a bread-based, porridge-wike beer cawwed wusa.[citation needed]

These beers were often dick, more of a gruew dan a beverage, and drinking straws were used by de Sumerians to avoid de bitter sowids weft over from fermentation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Though beer was drunk in Ancient Rome, it was repwaced in popuwarity by wine.[20]Tacitus wrote disparagingwy of de beer brewed by de Germanic peopwes of his day. Thracians were awso known to consume beer made from rye, even since de 5f century BC, as de ancient Greek wogographer Hewwanicus of Lesbos says. Their name for beer was brutos, or brytos. The Romans cawwed deir brew cerevisia, from de Cewtic word for it. Beer was apparentwy enjoyed by some Roman wegionaries. For instance, among de Vindowanda tabwets (from Vindowanda in Roman Britain, dated c. 97–103 AD), de cavawry decurion Mascuwus wrote a wetter to prefect Fwavius Ceriawis inqwiring about de exact instructions for his men for de fowwowing day. This incwuded a powite reqwest for beer to be sent to de garrison (which had entirewy consumed its previous stock of beer).[21]

In ancient Mesopotamia, cway tabwets indicate dat de majority of brewers were probabwy women, and dat brewing was a fairwy weww respected occupation during de time, being de onwy profession in Mesopotamia which derived sociaw sanction and divine protection from femawe deities/goddesses, specificawwy: Ninkasi, who covered de production of beer, Siris, who was used in a metonymic way to refer to beer, and Siduri, who covered de enjoyment of beer.[23][24] Mesopotamian brewing appears to have incorporated de usage of a twice-baked barwey bread cawwed bappir, which was excwusivewy used for brewing beer.[25] It was discovered earwy dat reusing de same container for fermenting de mash wouwd produce more rewiabwe resuwts; brewers on de move carried deir tubs wif dem.[26]

The Ebwa tabwets, discovered in 1974 in Ebwa, Syria, show dat beer was produced in de city in 2500 BC.[27] Earwy traces of beer and de brewing process have been found in ancient Babywonia as weww. At de time, brewers were women as weww, but awso priestesses. Some types of beers were used especiawwy in rewigious ceremonies. In 2100 BC, de Babywonian king Hammurabi incwuded reguwations governing tavern keepers in his waw code for de kingdom.[28]

Beer was part of de daiwy diet of Egyptian pharaohs over 5,000 years ago. Then, it was made from baked barwey bread, and was awso used in rewigious practices.[29] During de buiwding of de Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, each worker got a daiwy ration of four to five witers of beer, which served as bof nutrition and refreshment dat was cruciaw to de pyramids' construction, uh-hah-hah-hah.[30]

The Greek writer Sophocwes (450 BCE) discussed de concept of moderation when it came to consuming beer in Greek cuwture, and bewieved dat de best diet for Greeks consisted of bread, meats, various types of vegetabwes, and beer[citation needed] or "ζῦθος" (zydos) as dey cawwed it.[31] The ancient Greeks awso made barweywine (Greek: "κρίθινος οἶνος" – kridinos oinos, "barwey wine"[32][33]) mentioned by Greek historian Powybius in his work The Histories, where he states dat Phaeacians kept barweywine in siwver and gowden kraters.[34]

In Europe during de Middwe Ages, a brewers' guiwd might adopt a patron saint of brewing. Arnuwf of Metz (c. 582–640) and Arnuwf of Oudenburg (c. 1040–1087) were recognized by some French and Fwemish brewers.[35] Bewgian brewers, too, venerated Arnuwf of Oudenburg (aka Arnowd of Soissons),[36] who is awso recognized as de patron saint of hop-pickers. Christian monks buiwt breweries, to provide food, drink, and shewter to travewers and piwgrims.[29]

Charwemagne, Frankish king and ruwer of de Howy Roman Empire during de 8f century, considered beer to be an important part of wiving, and is often dought to have trained some brewers himsewf.[28]

Beer was one of de most common drinks during de Middwe Ages. It was consumed daiwy by aww sociaw cwasses in de nordern and eastern parts of Europe where grape cuwtivation was difficuwt or impossibwe.[citation needed] Though wine of varying qwawities was de most common drink in de souf, beer was stiww popuwar among de wower cwasses. The idea dat beer was consumed more commonwy dan water during medievaw times is a myf. Water was cheaper dan beer, and towns/viwwages were buiwt cwose to sources of fresh water such as rivers, springs, and wewws to faciwitate easy access to de resource.[37] Though probabwy one of de most popuwar drinks in Europe, beer was disdained by science as being unheawdy, mostwy because ancient Greek and more contemporary Arab physicians had wittwe or no experience wif de drink. In 1256, de Awdobrandino of Siena described de nature of beer in de fowwowing way:

“

But from whichever it is made, wheder from oats, barwey or wheat, it harms de head and de stomach, it causes bad breaf and ruins de teef, it fiwws de stomach wif bad fumes, and as a resuwt anyone who drinks it awong wif wine becomes drunk qwickwy; but it does have de property of faciwitating urination and makes one's fwesh white and smoof.[38]

”

The use of hops in beer was written of in 822 by a Carowingian Abbot.[citation needed] Fwavoring beer wif hops was known at weast since de 9f century, but was onwy graduawwy adopted because of difficuwties in estabwishing de right proportions of ingredients. Before dat, gruit, a mix of various herbs, had been used, but did not have de same preserving properties as hops. Beer fwavored widout it was often spoiwed soon after preparation and couwd not be exported. The onwy oder awternative was to increase de awcohow content, which was rader expensive. Hopped beer was perfected in de medievaw towns of Bohemia by de 13f century. German towns pioneered a new scawe of operation wif standardized barrew sizes dat awwowed for warge-scawe export. Previouswy beer had been brewed at home, but de production was now successfuwwy repwaced by medium-sized operations of about eight to ten peopwe. This type of production spread to Howwand in de 14f century and water to Fwanders and Brabant, and reached Engwand by de wate 15f century.[39]

Engwish awe and beer brewing were carried out separatewy, no brewer being awwowed to produce bof. The Brewers Company of London stated "no hops, herbs, or oder wike ding be put into any awe or wiqwore wherof awe shaww be made – but onwy wiqwor (water), mawt, and yeast." This comment is sometimes misqwoted as a prohibition on hopped beer.[citation needed] However, hopped beer was opposed by some, e.g.

Awe is made of mawte and water; and dey de which do put any oder dynge to awe dan is rehersed, except yest, barme, or goddesgood [dree words for yeast], dof sophysticat dere awe. Awe for an Engwysshe man is a naturaww drinke. Awe muste haue dese properties, it muste be fresshe and cweare, it muste not be ropy, nor smoky, nor it must haue no wefte nor taywe. Awe shuwde not be dronke vnder .v. dayes owde …. Barwy mawte makef better awe dan Oten mawte or any oder corne dof … Beere is made of mawte, of hoppes, and water; it is a naturaww drynke for a doche [Dutch] man, and nowe of wate dayes it is moche vsed in Engwande to de detryment of many Engwysshe men … for de drynke is a cowde drynke. Yet it dof make a man fatte, and dof infwate de bewy, as it dof appere by de doche mennes faces and bewyes.

In Europe, beer brewing wargewy remained a home activity in medievaw times. By de 14f and 15f centuries, beermaking was graduawwy changing from a famiwy-oriented activity to an artisan one, wif pubs and monasteries brewing deir own beer for mass consumption, uh-hah-hah-hah.

In de wate Middwe Ages, de brewing industry in nordern Europe changed from a smaww-scawe domestic industry to a warge-scawe export industry. The key innovation was de introduction of hops, which began in nordern Germany in de 13f century. Hops sharpwy improved bof de brewing process and de qwawity of beer. Oder innovations from German wands invowved warger kettwe sizes and more freqwent brewing. Consumption went up, whiwe brewing became more concentrated because it was a capitaw-intensive industry. Thus in Hamburg per capita consumption increased from an average of 300 witers per year in de 15f century to about 700 in de 17f century.[41]

The use of hops spread to de Nederwands and den to Engwand. In 15f century Engwand, an unhopped beer wouwd have been known as an awe, whiwe de use of hops wouwd make it a beer. Hopped beer was imported to Engwand from de Nederwands as earwy as 1400 in Winchester, and hops were being pwanted on de iswand by 1428. The popuwarity of hops was at first mixed—de Brewers Company of London went so far as to state "no hops, herbs, or oder wike ding be put into any awe or wiqwore wherof awe shaww be made—but onwy wiqwor (water), mawt, and yeast." However, by de 16f century, awe had come to refer to any strong beer, and aww awes and beers were hopped, giving rise to de verse noted by de antiqwary John Aubrey:

de year, according to Aubrey, being de fifteenf of Henry VIII (1524).[42]

In 1516, Wiwwiam IV, Duke of Bavaria, adopted de Reinheitsgebot (purity waw), perhaps de owdest food reguwation stiww in use drough de 20f century (de Reinheitsgebot passed formawwy from German waw in 1987). The Gebot ordered dat de ingredients of beer be restricted to water, barwey, and hops; yeast was added to de wist after Louis Pasteur's discovery in 1857. The Bavarian waw was appwied droughout Germany as part of de 1871 German unification as de German Empire under Otto von Bismarck, and has since been updated to refwect modern trends in beer brewing. To dis day, de Gebot is considered a mark of purity in beers, awdough dis is controversiaw.

Most beers untiw rewativewy recent times were top-fermented. Bottom-fermented beers were discovered by accident in de 16f century after beer was stored in coow caverns for wong periods; dey have since wargewy outpaced top-fermented beers in terms of vowume. For furder discussion of bottom-fermented beers, see Piwsner and Lager.

There is pre-historic evidence dat shows brewing began around 5400 BC in Sumer (soudern Iraq). However, as wif de history of corn whiskey, de production of oder awcohowic beverages is often seen as a way to preserve excess grain, rader dan an occupation in and of itsewf.

Documented evidence and recentwy excavated tombs indicate dat de Chinese brewed awcohowic beverages from bof mawted grain and grain converted by mowd from prehistoric times, but dat de mawt conversion process was wargewy considered inefficient in comparison wif de use of mowds speciawwy cuwtivated on rice carrier (de resuwting mowded rice being cawwed 酒麴 (Jiǔ qū) in Chinese and Koji in Japanese) to convert cooked rice into fermentabwe sugars, bof in de amount of resuwting fermentabwe sugars and de residuaw by products (de Chinese use de dregs weft after fermenting de rice, cawwed 酒糟 (Jiǔzāo), as a cooking ingredient in many dishes, freqwentwy as an ingredient to sauces where Western dishes wouwd use wine), because de rice undergoes starch conversion after being huwwed and cooked, rader dan whowe and in husks wike barwey mawt. Furdermore, de hop pwant being unknown in East Asia, mawt-based awcohowic beverages did not preserve weww over time, and de use of mawt in de production of awcohowic beverages graduawwy feww out of favor in China untiw disappearing from Chinese history by de end of de Tang Dynasty. The use of rice became dominant, such dat wines from fruits of any type were historicawwy aww but unknown except as imports in China.

The production of awcohowic beverage from cooked rice converted by microbes continues to dis day, and some cwassify de different varieties of Chinese 米酒 (Mǐjiǔ) and Japanese sake as beer since dey are made from converted starch rader dan fruit sugars. However, dis is a debatabwe point, and such beverages are generawwy referred to as "rice wine" or "sake" which is reawwy de generic Chinese and Japanese word for aww awcohowic beverages.

Some Pacific iswand cuwtures ferment starch dat has been converted to fermentabwe sugars by human sawiva, simiwar to de chicha of Souf America. This practice is awso used by many oder tribes around de worwd, who eider chew de grain and den spit it into de fermentation vessew or spit into a fermentation vessew containing cooked grain, which is den seawed up for de fermentation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Enzymes in de spittwe convert de starch into fermentabwe sugars, which are fermented by wiwd yeast. Wheder or not de resuwting product can be cawwed beer is sometimes disputed, since:

As wif Asian rice-based wiqwors, it does not invowve mawting.

This medod is often used wif starches derived from sources oder dan grain, such as yams, taro, or oder such root vegetabwes.

Some Taiwanese tribes have taken de process a step furder by distiwwing de resuwting awcohowic beverage, resuwting in a cwear wiqwor. However, as none of de Taiwanese tribes are known to have devewoped systems of writing, dere is no way to document how far back dis practice goes, or if de techniqwe was brought from Mainwand China by Han Chinese immigrants. Judging by de fact dat dis techniqwe is usuawwy found in tribes using miwwet (a grain native to nordern China) as de ingredient, de watter seems much more wikewy.

Asia's first brewery was incorporated in 1855 (awdough it was estabwished earwier) by Edward Dyer at Kasauwi in de Himawayan Mountains in India under de name Dyer Breweries. The company stiww exists and is known as Mohan Meakin, today comprising a warge group of companies across many industries.

Fowwowing significant improvements in de efficiency of de steam engine in 1765, industriawization of beer became a reawity. Furder innovations in de brewing process came about wif de introduction of de dermometer in 1760 and hydrometer in 1770, which awwowed brewers to increase efficiency and attenuation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Prior to de wate 18f century, mawt was primariwy dried over fires made from wood, charcoaw, or straw, and after 1600, from coke.

In generaw, none of dese earwy mawts wouwd have been weww shiewded from de smoke invowved in de kiwning process, and conseqwentwy, earwy beers wouwd have had a smoky component to deir fwavors; evidence indicates dat mawtsters and brewers constantwy tried to minimize de smokiness of de finished beer.

Writers of de period describe de distinctive taste derived from wood-smoked mawts, and de awmost universaw revuwsion it engendered. The smoked beers and awes of de West Country were famous for being undrinkabwe – wocaws and de desperate excepted. This is from "Directions for Brewing Mawt Liqwors" (1700):

In most parts of de West, deir mawt is so stenched wif de Smoak of de Wood, wif which 'tis dryed, dat no Stranger can endure it, dough de inhabitants, who are famiwiarized to it, can swawwow it as de Howwanders do deir dick Bwack Beer Brewed wif Buck Wheat.

An even earwier reference to such mawt was recorded by Wiwwiam Harrison, in his "Description of Engwand", 1577:

In some pwaces it [mawt] is dried at weisure wif wood awone, or straw awone, in oder wif wood and straw togeder, but, of aww, de straw-dried is de most excewwent. For de wood-dried mawt, when it is brewed, beside dat de drink is higher of cowour, it dof hurt and annoy de head of him dat is not used dereto, because of de smoke. Such awso as use bof indifferentwy do bark, cweave, and dry deir wood in an oven, dereby to remove aww moisture dat shouwd procure de fume ...

"London and Country Brewer" (1736) specified de varieties of "brown mawt" popuwar in de city:

Brown Mawts are dryed wif Straw, Wood and Fern, etc. The straw-dryed is de best, but de wood sort has a most unnaturaw Taste, dat few can bear wif, but de necessitous, and dose dat are accustomed to its strong smoaky tang; yet it is much used in some of de Western Parts of Engwand, and many dousand Quarters of dis mawt has been formerwy used in London for brewing de Butt-keeoing-beers wif, and dat because it sowd for two shiwwings per Quarter cheaper dan Straw-dryed Mawt, nor was dis Quawity of de Wood-dryed Mawt much regarded by some of its Brewers, for dat its iww Taste is wost in nine or twewve Monds, by de Age of de Beer, and de strengf of de great Quantity of Hops dat were used in its preservation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

The hydrometer transformed how beer was brewed. Before its introduction beers were brewed from a singwe mawt: brown beers from brown mawt, amber beers from amber mawt, pawe beers from pawe mawt. Using de hydrometer, brewers couwd cawcuwate de yiewd from different mawts. They observed dat pawe mawt, dough more expensive, yiewded far more fermentabwe materiaw dan cheaper mawts. For exampwe, brown mawt (used for Porter) gave 54 pounds of extract per qwarter, whiwst pawe mawt gave 80 pounds. Once dis was known, brewers switched to using mostwy pawe mawt for aww beers suppwemented wif a smaww qwantity of highwy cowoured mawt to achieve de correct cowour for darker beers.

The invention of de drum roaster in 1817 by Daniew Wheewer awwowed for de creation of very dark, roasted mawts, contributing to de fwavour of porters and stouts. Its devewopment was prompted by a British waw of 1816 forbidding de use of any ingredients oder dan mawt and hops. Porter brewers, empwoying a predominantwy pawe mawt grist, urgentwy needed a wegaw cowourant. Wheewer's patent mawt was de sowution, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Yeast ring used by Swedish homebrewers in de 19f century to preserve de yeast between brewing sessions.

Louis Pasteur's 1857 discovery of yeast's rowe in fermentation wed to brewers devewoping medods to prevent de souring of beer by undesirabwe microorganisms.

Many European nations have unbroken brewing traditions dating back to de earwiest historicaw records. Beer is an especiawwy important drink in countries such as Bewgium, Germany, Austria, Irewand, UK, France, de Scandinavian countries, Powand, de Czech Repubwic, Spain and oders having strong and uniqwe brewing traditions wif deir own history, characteristic brewing medods, and stywes of beer.

Unwike in many parts of de worwd, dere is a significant market in Europe (de UK in particuwar) for beer containing wive yeast. These unfiwtered, unpasteurised brews are more chawwenging to handwe dan de commonwy sowd "dead" beers; "wive" beer qwawity can suffer wif poor care, but many peopwe prefer its taste. Whiwe beer is usuawwy matured for rewativewy short times (a few weeks to a few monds) compared to wine, some of de stronger so-cawwed reaw awes have been found to devewop character and fwavour over de course of as much as severaw decades.

Worwd beer consumption per capita

In some parts of de worwd, breweries dat had begun as a famiwy business by Germans or oder European émigrés grew into warge companies, often passing into hands wif more concern for profits dan traditions of qwawity, resuwting in a degradation of de product.

In 1953, New Zeawander Morton W. Coutts devewoped de techniqwe of continuous fermentation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Coutts patented his process, which invowves beer fwowing drough seawed tanks, fermenting under pressure, and never coming into contact wif de atmosphere, even when bottwed. His process was introduced in de US and UK, but is now used for commerciaw beer production onwy in New Zeawand.[43]

In some sectors brewers are rewuctant to embrace new technowogy for fear of wosing de traditionaw characteristics of deir beer. For exampwe, Marston's Brewery in Burton on Trent stiww uses open wooden Burton Union sets for fermentation in order to maintain de qwawity and fwavour of its beers, whiwe Bewgium's wambic brewers go so far as to expose deir brews to outside air in order to pick up de naturaw wiwd yeasts which ferment de wort. Traditionaw brewing techniqwes protect de beer from oxidation by maintaining a carbon dioxide bwanket over de wort as it ferments into beer.

Today, de brewing industry is a huge gwobaw business, consisting of severaw muwtinationaw companies, and many dousands of smawwer producers ranging from brewpubs to regionaw breweries. Advances in refrigeration, internationaw and transcontinentaw shipping, marketing and commerce have resuwted in an internationaw marketpwace, where de consumer has witerawwy hundreds of choices between various stywes of wocaw, regionaw, nationaw and foreign beers.

United States

Prior to Prohibition, dere were dousands of breweries in de United States, mostwy brewing heavier beers dan modern US beer drinkers are used to. Beginning in 1920, most of dese breweries went out of business, awdough some converted to soft drinks and oder businesses. Bootwegged beer was often watered down to increase profits, beginning a trend, stiww on-going today, of de American markets heaviwy advertising de weaker beers and keeping dem popuwar. Consowidation of breweries and de appwication of industriaw qwawity controw standards have wed to de mass-production and de mass-marketing of huge qwantities of wight wagers. Advertising became supreme, and bigger companies fared better in dat market. The decades after Worwd War II saw a huge consowidation of de American brewing industry: brewing companies wouwd buy deir rivaws sowewy for deir customers and distribution systems, shutting down deir brewing operations.[44] Breweries and imports have become more abundant since de mid-1980s; de number of breweries has been cwaimed as being eider over 1,500 in 2007 or over 1,400 in 2010, depending on de source. As of June 2013, The Brewers Association reports de totaw number of currentwy operating US breweries to be 2,538 wif onwy 55 of dose being non-craft breweries.[45][46][47][48]

The Finnish epic Kawevawa, cowwected in written form in de 19f century but based on oraw traditions many centuries owd, devotes more wines to de origin of beer and brewing dan it does to de origin of mankind.

In Egyptian mydowogy, de immense bwood-wust of de fierce wioness goddess Sekhmet was onwy sated after she was tricked into consuming an extremewy warge amount of red-cowoured beer (bewieving it to be bwood): she became so drunk dat she gave up swaughter awtogeder and became dociwe.

In Norse mydowogy de sea god Ægir, his wife Rán, and deir nine daughters, brewed awe (or mead) for de gods. In de Lokasenna, it is towd dat Ægir wouwd host a party where aww de gods wouwd drink de beer he brewed for dem. He made dis in a giant kettwe dat Thor had brought. The cups in Ægir's haww were awways fuww, magicawwy refiwwing demsewves when emptied. Ægir had two servants in his haww to assist him; Ewdir [Fire-Kindwer] and Fimafeng [Handy].

The word beer comes from owd Germanic wanguages, and is wif variations used in continentaw Germanic wanguages, bier in German and Dutch, but not in Nordic wanguages. The word was imported into de British Iswes by tribes such as de Saxons. It is disputed where de word originawwy comes from.

Many oder wanguages have borrowed de Dutch/German word, such as French bière, Itawian birra, Romanian "bere" and Turkish bira. The Nordic wanguages have öw/øw, rewated to de Engwish word awe. Spanish, Portuguese and Catawan have words dat evowved from Latin cervisia, originawwy of Cewtic origin, uh-hah-hah-hah. Swavic wanguages use pivo wif smaww variations, based on a pre-Swavic word meaning "beverage" and derived from de verb meaning "to drink".

Chuvash "pora" its r-Turkic counterpart, which may uwtimatewy be de source of de Germanic beer-word. [49]

Jofroi of Waterford, a Paris-based Dominican who about 1300 wrote a catawogue of aww de known wines and awes of Europe, describing dem wif great rewish, and recommending dem to academics and counsewors.

Arnowd, John P. 1911. Origin and History of Beer and Brewing: From Prehistoric Times to de Beginning of Brewing Science and Technowogy. Chicago: Awumni Association of de Wahw-Henius Institute of Fermentowogy. ISBN0-9662084-1-2